Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Just wanted to direct you to GirlTalk, an amazing blog that is doing a series on "Doing Your Husband Good" with comments from readers around the country sharing how they bless their husbands.

We all know different husbands are blessed by different things, but this may spark a new idea for you or refresh your efforts to please your husband by reading these comments. I know that whenever I hear an older, wiser woman who has been married over 20 years, with 11 children (in some cases) saying how her husband is blessed and what works for them, I want to hear all about that!

Our pumpkin patch experience was last week...what fun we had! Here are my little "pumpkins" in the picture above.

They painted pumpkins, went "fishing" for snacks and played a bean bag toss in a giant pumpkin. The ladies in charge of the "fishing" eventually had to cut Taylor off when she figured out she could get a snack every time she played.

Beckett had a great time just pretending the pumpkins were balls and rolling them around/throwing them.

Taylor Joy painted her very own pumpkin. She was mixing colors like crazy and it ended up almost completely brown by the time we got it home. I know she's only two and a half, but it was almost hard for me to watch (being the craft perfectionist that I am). I just wanted to step in and do it for her! Maybe next year we can work on keeping the colors separated. ;)

Taylor Joy and her friend Ethan painting pumpkins. She couldn't be more pleased with her work. What a cutie pie.

Monday, October 20, 2008

A group of people from our church were going to the zoo and we decided to join them.

It really was a very easy day trip and the kids were (mostly) good during the car ride. Beckett fell asleep once I retrieved his paci and Taylor Joy watched a movie in the car. Not bad.

Not bad since I got to meet such a sweet little baby. Here she is with her mama and one of my best friends, Storey.Taylor Joy loved playing in the water on their playground. Who knew that this would be her favorite part of the ZOO! (?)Her and Asher were holding hands...so sweet!All in all, such a FUN day!

I just used dry erase markers to write the chores and it will easily adapt so I can change the chores as they get older. You can see that Beckett has some intense responsibilities ;)

Taylor Joy was excited that I made something just for her and loves the idea of checking things off of a list (can we say Type A, just like Daddy?). She loves to help and this is a great way to teach her responsibility and to thank her and tell her what a blessing she is as we check it off the list.

We started letting her chip in around the house at a very young age. Around 1 we started realizing that she desired to help around the house and so we would find little things that she could do that weren't too difficult for her. When it came to laundry, we would give her some washcloths and hand towels and let her go to town. She thought she was helping and since then she really has learned how to (messily) fold a towel. When I am loading or unloading the dishwasher, she helps by putting away her silverware, bowls and cups. She also takes her laundry to her room, throws away her trash, helps dust and puts her dishes in the sink. She is learning responsibility in the home and stewardship of the home. I am so pleased with how fast she has picked those things up because we have let her help instead of worrying about the mess she will make or about having to redo what she has done or about the extra time it will take to teach. It is well worth the time and effort to teach your children as you keep your home.

I'm making the document I used available in case you would like to make something similar for your children.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

He is FAST! When I am trying to sweep the floor I have to be quick because he’s right there trying to get into all the “yuckies” that I’m sweeping. Then I will move along and sweep another area and he speeds over to try and beat me to it! It’s actually quite a sight to see!

He is such a little smarty pants! He has signed “more”, “all done” and waved goodbye.

He babbles like a madman…we hear “ba ba ba”, “la la la”, “ga ga”, and “ah” all day long and it is such a sweet sound to my ears.

He bops to the beats. Seriously. He stands at his learning table and bops around when he hears a good tune.

He gives good open mouth kisses to his mommy. He just smiles, leans right over and plants a good one on me. And it melts my heart.

What a sweet blessing you are, Beckett Cole.(p.s. Look at that mischievous face...he got into the recycling when I wasn't looking...)

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

I was reading this article and looking at the pictures thinking several things:

1. I LOVE fall!2. Although I love decorating interiors I have never really made an effort to decorate the exterior of our house.3. How can I do this on a budget?4. What are our fall "traditions"?

I thought I would ask you these questions, too:

How do you decorate for fall? I want to hear about your interior and exterior and what you do to incorporate those rich fall colors and to bring the outside in.

How do you decorate for fall using everyday items and what do you use (so I can copy you)?

How do you do it cheaply? Where do you shop or do you make homemade items to decorate?

What are your fall traditions?

Some things I am going to try this year or have done in the past:

These are Martha Stewart glitter pumpkins. We are making these in my MOPS group this month and I can't wait to set them out on my table. I'm thinking I may put them up on a cake stand along with some candles and leaves.

It's a longstanding tradition to carve a pumpkin in the Duty house. Allen and I started doing it when we were dating and have continued every year since. I think last year we may have done it at like 10 pm the night before Halloween, but nonetheless, it got done. Here's a picture from 2006:

Another tradition I would like to start (after convincing Allen, of course) is going to Dewberry Farms every Fall. I have heard wonderful things about it and activities include: petting zoo, pig races, singing chickens, panning for gold, zip lines, pumpkin stroll, pumpkin blasting (oh my, any boy would love this), corn maze, campfire, hayrides, a toddler playground, a country store, and more! I am convinced we need to make it out there this year.

A tradition that I would like to eventually get someone to join me in is making and enjoying apple cider. I have been trying different recipes every year and I think I have pretty much perfected my recipe. Me and my sis enjoy this tradition together when she's in town. For some reason I feel so bonded when we are sipping cider together!

I think that's the reality of traditions, actually. Even if they seem silly or cheesy, doing them together is what creates the bond. So, come on, spill your beans about how your family bonds during this season of the year!

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

I found out about this lovely little gadget called a favicon. It's the little icon you see in the address bar and then up at the top of your tab if you use Firefox. You can also see it next to my blog if you use a reader. Pretty cool, huh? I thought it was cute, first and foremost. So you're thinking, how do I get one of those little cuties? Well, I'm glad you asked.

I'm going to make this short and sweet. If I have anything else to add, I'll add it in the comments.

1. Make something cute in photoshop or just choose some clipart that will look good really small.2. Go to this website.3. Upload your picture, let it create the necessary files and then download them to your computer.4. Find the ico file that you downloaded and save it as .png in whatever photo editing program you use.5. Upload that file to your photo-sharing site (I recommend Picasa and will use that as my model). After you have uploaded your picture, go to the right side of the page (in Picasa, at least), select large (800 px) and copy the code where it says "embed image."6. Log into your blogger account, go to "Settings" and "Edit HTML."7. Between the head tags in your HTML code, paste this:

8. Now, in place of the highlighted area, paste your location of your picture that you copied in step 5.

9. You may notice that what you pasted is quite a bit more code than what is shown in step 7. You need to delete everything up to the "http" after ".png". Save and you should be on your way to seeing cuteness every time you open your page, too!

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I am a stay-at-home mom to 3 cuties, wife of a church planter, homeschooler at heart (in a transition right now), long-time crafter, so-so seamstress, lover of holidays and traditions, and follower of Jesus. We praise the Lord everyday for the blessings He has given us in Himself, in our family, in our church body and in life. He is so good to us! We invite you to join us in this journey through life.